The city of Vitry-sur-Seine lies within the southeastern suburbs of Paris. Historically, this commune has been home to a large, diverse immigrant population, a background that contributed to Vitry being on the forefront in the development of the French hip hop movement in the 80s. For some time now, the city has supported a cultural policy of bringing art to all, for example, opening it’s Musée d’Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne in 2005. The city has actively embraced public arts programs, installing contemporary sculptures throughout public spaces as well as supporting large-scale mural projects. Thanks to initiatives by artists such as C215, Vitry’s walls bear the work of an international roster of street artists such as Nunca, Nychos, Roa and Ethos to name but a few. I spent an afternoon in Vitry earlier this summer and only caught a fraction of the many murals on display.

Brooklynite Gallery has built a solid following for its dynamic 2-person shows, pairing some of the world’s most active and sought after street artists and, in many cases, introducing them to a New York audience. Continuing with the trend of showing strong stencil artists — the gallery featured Dolk and M-City earlier this year — C215 and Eelus are next in the line up with an opening this Saturday, September 4th. Both artists are alumni of Banksy’s 2008 Cans Festival and both have developed their styles significantly in the meantime. C215 is no stranger to New York, having shown at Ad Hoc in December 2008 and having built an impressive street presence over multiple visits. Eelus’ New York debut follows a well-regarded solo show at London’s Blackall Studios this spring. I very much look forward to seeing what new work these two have come up with for Brooklyn and how their work plays off one another. Brooklynite will no doubt once again take full advantage of its outdoor space — I’ll see you out back Saturday night.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m just one cat shy of being a crazy cat lady (for the record, I have two). While I encourage everyone to do their part to help bring down NYC’s feral cat population, these street cats do just fine on their own: